Clinton, Short of Support at Home and Abroad, Sidetracks Bosnia

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN,

Published: May 11, 1993

WASHINGTON, May 10—
The Clinton Administration -- unsure of the American public's support for military action in Bosnia, wanting to refocus attention on its economic programs at home and opposed by its European allies -- announced today that it was putting its Bosnia policy on hold for a while.

The decision capped a dizzying week in which the Administration sent a series of contradictory signals on what it intended to do in Bosnia, how far it was ready to go and how much support it thought it had from the allies.

Administration officials insisted that the delay in any decision on Bosnia was only temporary, and again said European indecisiveness was the cause. The officials said any decision on military action in Bosnia would await the results of the Bosnian Serb referendum on Saturday and Sunday on whether to accept a peace settlement.

Administration officials had earlier dismissed the referendum as a sham. But today they said they had no choice but to agree to await its results, because Russia and other European allies were not prepared to contemplate any military action until they saw if the vote came out in favor of a peace settlement. 'A Practical Matter'

The State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, told reporters that the Europeans "are making clear in our consultations that some of them wish to await the results of this referendum before they reach closure with us, before they agree with us on the specific further steps that we can take."

"So," he added, "as a practical matter it appears that they will want to await the results of the referendum before we can agree on final steps."

But at a meeting of European Community foreign ministers in Brussels today, the European diplomats also publicly scoffed at the referendum. Asked why the Europeans were impugning the vote at the same time that Administration officials said the Europeans were telling them privately that they wanted to await the vote, American officials asserted that it was because the Europeans did not want to be seen publicly as putting all their hopes on a referendum conducted by an illegitimate government.

Instead, the Europeans were saying publicly that they wanted a pause now to gauge the impact of the Serbian Government's vow to blockade all but relief supplies to the Bosnian Serbs to force them to the negotiating table. The Europeans also said that if the United States and Russia really wanted to do something helpful right now, they would contribute ground troops to help protect "safe zones" for civilians caught up in the Bosnian war.

The Administration has not yet formally responded to the suggestion, but officials said such safe havens could be protected only with large numbers of ground troops, which they have no intention of sending as long as there is no peace agreement between the warring factions in Bosnia. Exercise in Finger-Pointing

While Administration officials put the onus on the Europeans for the latest delay, European diplomats said this was simply an excuse for waffling by the White House. This behind-the-scenes finger-pointing seems to be becoming a pattern, and at this point it is impossible to tell who is hiding behind whom.

It is true, though, that a delay now in talk about military steps certainly suits President Clinton, who is spending most of this week on the road trying to demonstrate to the American public that he is refocusing his attention on the domestic economy.

The mood in Congress also appears to be tilting away from military intervention in Bosnia, with more and more Congressional leaders from both parties warning Mr. Clinton that, as things stand now, he does not have the votes for armed action in Bosnia.

During several public events in Cleveland today, Mr. Clinton never mentioned foreign policy, although aides said he spoke with President Boris N. Yeltsin of Russia for 10 minutes on the telephone before leaving the White House this morning.

Today's announcement by the Administration that it was accepting a delay is only the latest in a series of twists by the President and his top advisers. On Thursday, for instance, reporters traveling to European capitals with Secretary of State Warren Christopher were told that the United States was "not prepared by any means to wait for the referendum."

On Friday, as Mr. Christopher was flying home from Europe, Mr. Clinton told reporters at a White House news conference that "there's a lot more agreement than you think" with the Europeans on using military force.

Then on Saturday, Mr. Clinton met with Mr. Christopher at the White House, and suddenly the mood changed. Officials said Mr. Christopher had informed the President that the Europeans preferred to wait for the Bosnian Serb referendum this weekend on the United Nations peace plan, and to see how effectively the Government of Serbia enforced its promised embargo against the Bosnian Serbs, before they would consider military steps.

Mr. Boucher said the Administration still did not take the referendum seriously, and still believed that "stronger measures are necessary, including military action."

Nevertheless, he said, the Administration was "looking to reach agreement with our allies on the steps that we can take together." Balkan Update

Fighting between Croats and Muslims in the southern Bosnian city of MOSTAR, continued yesterday as one cease-fire broke and another began. A United Nations commander is demanding information on hundreds of civilians bused out of MOSTAR during weekend battles. About 200 injured victims were found by United Nations observers in the nearly empty Muslim enclave of ZEPA, where thousands fled advancing Bosnian Serbs.

In BRUSSELS, the European Community suggested that, the United States and Russia should supply peacekeepers to join European troops protecting six "safe zones" in BOSNIA.

In WASHINGTON, Clinton Administration officials said plans for military action were on hold. Officials accompanying the President to CLEVELAND indicated the Administration would await a weekend referendum by Bosnian Serbs before deciding on military action. Earlier, they had considered the vote a sham.

In exchange for YUGOSLAVIA'S decision to cut off supplies to Bosnian Serbs, the federation's President wants economic sanctions against his country relaxed.